Freedom is Relative
by Hime no Ichigo
Summary: Two separate drabbles, the latter an AU. When you're a high school student, there are things you have to work around. And, what if—Rei is no longer with him? Written for rally drabble. Nagisa x Rei.
1. Freedom is Relative

**Freedom is Relative  
**By – _Hime no Ichigo_**  
**

**Genre**: General/Fluff  
**Rating**: G  
**Characters/Pairing**: HAZUKI Nagisa + RYUUGAZAKI Rei  
**Story Type**: Drabble  
**Summary**: When you're a high school student, there are things you have to work around.

**Disclaimer**: _Free! _is the intellectual property of Kyoto Animation.

**Notes**: This is from this week's theme: "amusement park".

* * *

The Friday after Rei picks up the butterfly stroke, Nagisa asks him to stay behind after school, claiming he has something important to ask him. Against his better judgment, he waits with his backpack and light novel against the row of lockers starting with _ha_.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Rei-chan!"

At the sound of his embarrassing nickname, he looks up to see Nagisa skid towards him, stopping in front of his locker and changing into his outdoor shoes. "It's nothing," he replies stiffly, pushing up his glasses. "What is it you wanted to ask me?"

"It would be easier if you give me your mail," Nagisa mumbles to himself, shutting the locker door. Turning around, he smiles brightly, an obviously mischievous look in his eyes, "Come with me to the amusement park tomorrow!"

"Why?!" Out of reflex, Rei's face is a scandalized look: any activity aside from (beautiful) sports and (beautiful) things is a waste of his time. And amusement parks are – well – other than being structurally beautiful, there's hardly any other reason worth his efforts.

"But Rei-chan, don't you want to get more familiar with the water? You _just_ managed to find a style that you won't sink," Nagisa laughs as his teammate cringes at the crude reminder. "We can't use the school pool, the community pool's being taken down, and there's no way we can get into those expensive gyms. And I'm pretty sure you can't swim at home in your bathtub—"

"All right, I get it, I get it," Rei sighs, defeated, the perfectionist in him persuaded over.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow at ten at the entrance! Don't be late!" Nagisa keeps the skip in his step to a minimum, barely holding in his glee.

(Funnily enough, even after all the clues he drops him, Rei _still_ manages to forget his swimming trunks—"I was running late," his excuse. Nagisa thanks the natural airhead inside him, when he's not trying to be logical and picking arguments.)

Later, Nagisa learns to regret lending Rei his speedos (because he also conveniently brings around spare trunks, yes). He should be a little more careful in the future about letting Rei show off his...rather perfect _assets_ in public.

- _Owari_ -

**Authoress' Notes**: It's hard writing for a new fandom.


	2. Void

**Void  
**By – _Hime no Ichigo_**  
**

**Genre**: Angst  
**Rating**: G  
**Pairing**: HAZUKI Nagisa x RYUUGAZAKI Rei (implied)  
**Story Type**: Drabble  
**Summary**: What if—Rei is no longer with him?

**Disclaimer**: _Free! _is the intellectual property of Kyoto Animation.

**Notes**: This is from this week's theme: "distance". I'm pretty sure it won't turn out like this in the anime okay. Err, spoilers for episode 5 if you haven't watched it yet?

**Other Notes**: The distance Rei jogs to school is based off of the distance between Ooiwa Station and Iwami Station (Iwatobi Station in the series), of the San'in Main Line. I don't recall reading anything specific about which direction he's jogging in, so this was based on inferences I drew from the anime.

* * *

One-point-five centimetres, that was the width of those red glasses.

His head reached the tip of his ear, a difference of eleven centimetres to the top of the mop of blue hair.

In Rei-chan's words, there was fifty centimetres from the surface of the pool to the starting block – plenty of room for a beautiful dive.

Nagisa would never, _ever_ forget when he saw with his own eyes how Rei was terrifyingly beautiful, hands letting go as he vaulted over the four metre high bar. Nor would he ever forget the first time they jogged together – him panting by the end of the two-point-nine kilometres, when Rei didn't look phased at all. He had been really jealous.

And he had looked forward to the day they could swim relay, fight for a trophy deserving of Iwatobi, in a fifty metres long pool.

Nagisa hates remembering all these details.

He hates it, because there's a far greater distance between the two of them now, and there's nothing he can do about it. No matter how much he calls, phones, waits – he won't get an answer.

- _Owari_ -

**Authoress' Notes**: OTL


End file.
